Clifton High School - Rotunda Yearbook (Clifton, NJ)

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THE REFLECTOR from under a nest of red eyebrows. His grin disclosed yellow lips and black, broken teeth. Shark had never seen him before. The key, the captain commanded. john Burrows drew himself up and stared silently at the buccaneer. The key, you cur, spat the villainous-looking man. John Burrows said nothing. Before Shark Malone was aware of the buccaneer's intention, the pistol had barked. A hole appeared in John Burrows' forehead, and he fell across the chest, one arm concealing the wound. The buccaneer looked at Shark. Where's the key, you dog? The key is lost, captain. But if you would like some rum, I can tell you where there's twenty casks. I-Ia!,' said the bearded man. He addressed three men. Carry this to the beach and move lively, or I'1l rip you open! He looked at Shark. Are you lying? If you're tricking me, I'll cut out your heartf, Twenty casks of rum, repeated Shark. A By nightfall every morsel of food had been taken, and the remaining settlers faced starvation. The buccaneers had searched for the Women, but could not find them. Soxthey killed a few men, just for the sake of killing. After their noisy search the buccaneers took their plunder and boarded their ship. Shark was not disturbed. The diamond skull was aboard the ship, but by nightfall every man in the crew would be in a drunken sleep. The strangler had not traveled on pirate ships for nothing, and he knew what twenty casks of rum could do. When the time came, he would board the ship, steal the skull, and leave for Cuba in the little boat Bur- rows had fitted out for him. The drunken shouting on the Cassandra gradually died away, and Shark started for the ship. Soon he stood in the water under the black hull of the ship. He climbed a rope ladder to the deck with a bog over his shoulder and looked over the rail. As he had expected, the drunken buccaneers lay asleep on the deck, snoring loudly. Shark stole through them. As he stepped past one man, he started and seemed about to awake, but rolled over and snored again. Shark got safely into the cabin where the captain slept drunkenly. The treasure hold was the next room, and he had to go through the captain's room to get there. The captain awoke just as Shark passed him. Shark gripped him with steel-like hands and pressed until he heard a sound like a pencil snapping. Then he went into the treasure room. In the corner on the broken chest, he saw the diamond skull, and he also saw many other treasures. Taking his bag, he took the choice treas- ures and put them into it-a pearl necklace, an emerald-studded gold bracelet, a ruby encrusted scepter, strings of diamonds, a loaded pistol, whose butt was studded with diamonds, many other gems of great value, Twenty-three

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THE REFLECTOR During the days of his convalescence, Shark sat outside the Bur- rows' cabin. He was given rum, of which twenty barrels were buried in the sand and only used on special occasions. Everyone brought him something. Even the children brought him flowers, as he sat in his chair swathed in blankets. Shark Malone took everything and said nothing. He sat in the sun and looked at the sea, dreaming of the diamond skull. For hours, in his imagination, he could see the eyes of the skull, and his two silver teeth shone in his evil smile. John Burrows told Shark that he was welcome for as long as he wished to stay, but if at any time when he was well again, he wished to leave, a small boat would be fitted out for him and he could go to Cuba to get a berth on a ship. Shark's strength returned to him rapidly and his wounds healed. When he told Burrows he was going to leave, Burrows was sincerely re- gretful, but he fitted out a boat with food and water and a small bag of clothing and moored it in a small bay, ready for Shark whenever he wished to start. That evening Shark stood in the door of the cabin mentally checking over his plans. He had the key to the chest, his boat was ready, so he would take the diamond skull from the chest and sail away into the night. As Shark stood watching the girl bending over her garden, he felt an unaccustomed sense of uneasiness, almost of shame, creep over him. He thought of the kindness of the girl and of the clothes she had made him. Then the glitter of the skull blinded him and he sneered at his weakness. The girl getting up from her garden looked toward the sea. She stiffened. Petie, she exclaimed, ua shipf, Shark looked and saw the dark bulk of a ship coming into the harbor. The strangler uttered an exclamation. Well did he know that ship, the Cassandra, a pirate ship under which he had sailed. The men of the settlement ran down to meet it. If it was going to Virginia it could take them there, but on its mast fluttered a black flag. The men turned and ran. John Burrows ran to his cabin in great strides. Buccaneers,,' he cried. Go to the woods! He rushed into the cabin to get the diamond skull and hide it. The key's gone, he shouted. We'll have to bury the whole chest. Shark withheld the key, for he had thought of the twenty casks of rum buried in the sand. The ground had scarcely been broken when the captain of the buc- caneers appeared. Lay down the spades, ye hearties,', he cried, and let's have a look in the chest. He was a tall, bearded fellow, with a knife thrust into his yellow girdle and a pistol in each hairy fist. His small, bright eyes peered out Twenty-two

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THE REFLECTOR and finally the diamond skull. As he reached for it he tipped the chest over. It fell with a great clatter. The buccaneers awakened, rushed into the captain's cabin, and found him dead. Shark knew of a little door fastened with a padlock, through which he could escape, but then he thought of all the women in the settlement and how they would be sold into slavery. Virginia would be among them. He weakened. He could fire his pistol into a keg of powder and blow up the whole ship. He was torn between his desire to save the women from slavery and his desire to escape and be rich. Finally he broke open a keg of pow- der and shot into it, holding the bag of jewels before his face as he did so. To the people on the island it seemed as if the whole ship rose slowly in the air, then settled back broken. Then, as if from heaven, jewels rained down upon them. And they at once left to settle in Virginia. But all the treasure was not found. In the year 1930 some campers near an uprooted palm found a skull studded with jewels. The jewels were not set in the skull but scattered, as though thrown there by a giant hand. JOSEPH HUGHES, June 1932. Wanderlzzsf Q 151 ELL, folks, you all know me. I'm your old friend, Jim Haw- yl ' kin, from Treasure Island. Remember? Sure. Have you .Ili Ml ever wondered what I did with my. share of the treasure? ik, f: Like me to tell you? All right, I will. After I had had a joyous reunion with my mother and had told her of all my adventures on the island, I immediately set out to pay off the debts which had accrued during my absence. Then I sold the Admiral Benbow and established my mother in a cozy little cottage looking out over the sea. This I did because I knew she had always longed for just such a place, and I was happy to be able to fulfill her heart,s desire. I, too, liked this little cottage with its tiny garden and flower- bordered walks, in which mother took such joyous pride, and decided to settle down and spend the rest of my days there in quiet comfort and contentment. At first I was perfectly content, but I fell to watching the deep blue horizon and froth-capped, restless green waves. One day I saw the white sail of a tall ship tossing on the waters of our little cove. Then the old adventure bug found me again. The wanderlust was upon me once more. I felt the irresistible call of distant lands, far- away places, and strange peoples. And so I am off on another glorious adventure! Perhaps Fate may decree that we shall meet again in another book. That is as the Maker may decide it. At any rate, I'm riding the sea with the misty spray in my face and the canvas pulling hard, while the rudder bangs in the stern! A rover! A wanderer! Carefree and glorying in my return to the great expanse of the open sea that leads to-where?,' JIM HAWKINS - HAL REID, June 193 5. Twenty-fou